When a child or teen with autism seeks mental health treatment, do doctors and psychologists ask about gastrointestinal problems? Perhaps they should, according to a new study that found a link between autism, GI problems, and mental health.

A decade ago, Sarah Mire got to know families affected by autism when she worked for a research project. Seeing the hardships they experienced, and their resilience, inspired her current research into stress and coping. She asks, can schools and service providers do more to help?

There are a lot of mysteries about the causes of autism, including if, how, and when ASD is inherited from parents. Scientists know that part of this mystery has to do with how the environment interacts with our genes.